It did not matter if Montrich was 36 or if Benzema, who has scored consecutive hat-tricks in the Champions League, was 34. In the end, the idea that Chelsea would run in Madrid was absurd. Carlo Ancelotti, a veteran of these meetings, had tricked Thomas Tuchel. Toni Kroos, who turned 32 in January, had helped Modric run the game. Benzema had completely extinguished Chelsea’s defense. That was a blow. It was just 3-1, which gives Chelsea hope of reaching the last four when they visit the Bernabeu on Tuesday, but it is difficult to see the European champions return to this quarter-final. The Madrilenians are not used to wasting a lead and, unless Chelsea find a way to fix their defensive weaknesses, Benzema is sure to make them suffer again. Tuchel desperately needs a quick fix. Chelsea, working under the uncertainty of its property issues, is a mess. As Tuhel admitted, there was no sign of improvement after the 4-1 defeat last weekend by Brentford. Once again Chelsea’s squad disappeared when their opponents had the ball and Tuhel’s concern is that too many of his players seem unfocused, with the errors being high and the illness summed up by oudouard Mendy, giving to Benzema his third goal with a miserable turn. sweeper at the start of the second half. Subscribe to our new women’s soccer newsletter Not that Medi was the only Chelsea player to have a hard time. Vinicius Jr. gave Andreas Christensen such a miserable time that the central defender had to retire at halftime. Unable to locate Montrich and Cross, N’Golo Cande also failed to make it in the second half. As for Romelu Lukaku, he was given 26 minutes to shake the game in favor of Chelsea and did nothing but miss the opportunity that the forwards of 97 97.5 million should get. Madrid, who had never won before Chelsea, would not be so generous. The Spaniards are a different proposal from the one that went so badly when these teams met in the semifinals last season. Ancelotti is 12 points ahead of them at the top of La Liga and although the emphasis was on speed by Tuchel, who chose a mobile front three-pointer by Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz, the feeling that Madrid would be defeated soon proved to be misplaced. . Admittedly the signs for Chelsea were encouraging when Mount ran to Cross early. At that stage, Madrid seemed to be in trouble. Chelsea pushed hard and had chances, Haverts shot and Thibaut Courtois repelled a foul by Reese James. However, he was very frantic from Chelsea. They had no position discipline and Madrid soon found space to create. There was a warning when Benzema and Fede Valverde released Vinicius, who hit the crossbar and Tuhel seemed anxious even before the first goal was scored. Casimiro (left) of Real Madrid faces Christian Pulisic of Chelsea as Luka Modric (right) looks. Photo: Tom Jenkins / The Guardian The game was played at the impressive pace of Madrid, Montrich, Kroos and Casimiro dominated the midfield and Chelsea were not fast enough to smell the danger. They did not seem to realize that the visitors wanted to take advantage of the gaps behind James. Chelsea’s right-back did not protect Christensen and this weakness proved decisive after 21 minutes, Vinicius played a double one-two with Benzema and made a cross for the French striker to send a great header over him. Medi. It was a great goal, made possible by Benzema who fell deep to connect the game, and another soon arrived. Valverde, who preferred Marco Asensio on the right, found Modric and the Croatian was allowed to pass for Benzema, who broke away from Thiago Silva and Christensen before passing Medi again. Chelsea was everywhere. Havertz made a backhand before halftime, escaping Éder Militão and David Alaba before Jorginho’s cross over Courtois, but was unconvincing. Tuhel was not fooled, especially when he saw Benzema lose a player at halftime. Something had to change and Tuhel used the space to adjust, replacing Christensen and Cande with Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziegeh. Unfortunately, no one will ever be able to tell if these replacements were the right ones. The second half was one minute when Mendy left the area and sold Antonio Rüdiger close by, allowing Benzema to steal possession and throw the ball into the empty net from 25 yards. Chelsea deflated. They tried to counterattack, but the mood worsened when Loukakou went out from six meters. In the end there was nothing but sorrow. Madrid had all the balance. Chelsea just has a mountain to climb.
